you find your purpose at twenty three, in a dusty office, between two pieces of paper. saving the world, he tells you. that’s what all of this is about. a cause worthy of your time, isn’t it?
certainly not what you thought you’d be doing, but it feels right. feels good, to question, to find, to dismantle. but it demands of you.
you barter your soul first. tie it to hers, the girl of endless flames and destruction. and oh, how it burns, but you swallow it, if it means saving the world.
you throw yourself into your work. nights spent pouring over files, hunting down books. colleagues instead of friends. it’s necessary, if it means saving the world.
you stalk terrible things, and when the time is right, you make them feel the weight of your gaze. and maybe it’s bad, maybe it should make you feel one step further from human, but it doesn’t matter, if it means saving the world.
you know when the new head emerges, he’s not who he claims to be. and, well, that’ll be a problem, you know. but it is one file among many. another thing to keep an eye on, to watch for the right opportunity to strike. you can afford to wait for this one, if it means saving the world.
you can feel eyes on you, always. or maybe it’s just one. you’re not sure, honestly. all you can do is carve up your books and make your peace with it, if it means saving the world.
you tear an innocent person limb from limb and give him to the dirt. you lead the ever faithful servant, the one who questions everything and everyone but you, to the maze that never ends. you help the boy with soft edges escape, and you sit by his bed while he dies, and afterwards, you steal his skin and bind him away. layer after layer of blood on your hands, if it means saving the world.
if it means saving the world.
it doesn’t mean saving the world.
he finds you pouring gasoline over the very place you helped defend for so long. it’s a fine plan, really. there are people upstairs, sure, but chances are good they’ll make it out, and if they don’t, well. one more mark on your stone conscience, if it means destroying him.
three shots, and you fall.
one last bit of knowledge imparted on you before you go: the fear of death’s cold grip is not the dull pain in your chest, nor the encroaching darkness on the edges of your vision. it is watching the gasoline lap at your feet, brushing your fingertips against the flint, and knowing you have failed.